Micro- and nano-celluloses derived from hemp stalks and their effect as polymer reinforcing materials

Zineb Kassab; Youness Abdellaoui; Mohamed Hamid Salim; Rachid Bouhfid; Abou El Kacem Qaiss; Mounir El Achaby

doi:10.1016/j.carbpol.2020.116506

Micro- and nano-celluloses derived from hemp stalks and their effect as polymer reinforcing materials

Carbohydr Polym. 2020 Oct 1:245:116506. doi: 10.1016/j.carbpol.2020.116506. Epub 2020 Jun 2.

Authors

Zineb Kassab¹, Youness Abdellaoui², Mohamed Hamid Salim³, Rachid Bouhfid⁴, Abou El Kacem Qaiss⁴, Mounir El Achaby⁵

Affiliations

¹ Materials Science and Nanoengineering Department (MSN), Mohammed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P), Lot 660 - Hay Moulay Rachid, 43150, Ben Guerir, Morocco. Electronic address: zineb.kassab@um6p.ma.
² Faculty of Engineering, Environmental Engineering Department, Autonomous University of Yucatan, Mexico.
³ Materials Science and Nanoengineering Department (MSN), Mohammed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P), Lot 660 - Hay Moulay Rachid, 43150, Ben Guerir, Morocco.
⁴ Composites and Nanocomposites Center (CNC), Moroccan Foundation for Advanced Science, Innovation and Research (MAScIR), Rabat Design Center, Rue Mohamed El Jazouli, Madinat El Irfane, 10100 Rabat, Morocco.
⁵ Materials Science and Nanoengineering Department (MSN), Mohammed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P), Lot 660 - Hay Moulay Rachid, 43150, Ben Guerir, Morocco. Electronic address: mounir.elachaby@um6p.ma.

PMID: 32718617
DOI: 10.1016/j.carbpol.2020.116506

Abstract

Fiber-reinforced polymers have emerged as one of the most popular methods to improve the polymers' characteristics owing to their prominent properties. This study aimed to investigate the properties of cellulose microfibers (CMF), cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) and cellulose nanofibrils (CNF) extracted from hemp stalks, then their effect as reinforcement for the PVA-polymer. CMF have been extracted from hemp stalks with a diameter and yield of 16.96 μm and 63 %, respectively. Needle-shaped CNC were obtained from CMF using sulfuric acid hydrolysis at two hydrolysis times, while CNF exhibited a web-like structure obtained using TEMPO-oxidation followed by mechanical treatment. Cellulose derivatives were utilized to develop cellulose-based PVA composites; their transparency, chemical structure, thermal stability and mechanical properties were investigated. The incorporation of nanocellulose demonstrated a significant increase in mechanical properties compared to the neat PVA. The extracted nanocellulose could be used as nanofillers for the preparation of transparent and mechanically strong PVA-based nanocomposites.

Keywords: Cellulose microfibers; Cellulose nanocrystals; Cellulose nanofibrils; Hemp stalks; Tensile mechanical analysis.